brownell



A. o. snow-NELL; or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.'

Letters Potent No. 76,298, dated April 7, 1868.

MPROVEMENT IN BATH-TUBS.

@Ltr tluittule referrer tuY iu time stas tuent mit mating putt nf'tlgesmite.

TO' ALL WHOM IT MAY vOONCERN Be it known that I, A. C. BROWNELL,.ofBrooklyn, `in the county of Kings, and State of New York, have inventednew and useful Improvements in. Bath-Tubs; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, whichwill enable those 'skilled in the art to make and use the same,'reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon. l

This invention relates to a -new and' improved bath-tub, of that classwhich is constructed of a wooden frame or box, lined with sheetmetaLtinned copper being the material most generally u scd for =thelining. At present those frames or boxes are constructed of wide boards,and considerable diiculty has been experienced in obtaining a properinternal shape, and, in fact, a desirable internal shapel'nerver hasbeen attained, that is to say, a shape which conforms to the shape ofthe human body, and which will admit of the metal li-ning being -fittedsnugly within the frame or box, so as to avoid angles, prevent thelining being indented and disfigured, and which will admit of the waterbeing fully discharged from the tub-diiiicultes which myimprovement.fully obvia-tes. In the accompanyingsheet of drawings- Ifigure 1 isavertical longitudinalsection of my invention, taken in the line :vaaiig. 3. l vFigure 2, a transverse vertical section of the same, ltakenin the line y y, fig.,3.

Figure 3, a plan or top view ofthe same. Figure 4, an end viewof theframe or box cfa bath-tub 'as at lpresent constructed, exhibited with a.view of .showing the difference between it and my invention,

Similar letters of referenceindicatelike parts.

The exterior of'my improved tub consists of two upright Aparallelside-pieces a aand two upright end-pieces b 6.1 The bottom, A, iscomposedcf a. series of slats, c, matched together .by a tongue andgroove, as shown clearly in iig. 2.' This bottonnpis slightly'incline'din a longitudinal direction, asshown in'g. 1, and transversely it has"4a curved form, approximating to a semi-ellipse, as shown in iig. 2'.The sides of the bottom, designated by d d,

being portions of smaller circles than the central lower portion e, (seeiig; 2.) The upper ends of the sides dd join the sides a a of the frameor box, so as not to form .an appreciable angle. The slats c are boundorheld in proper position by brackets B, which may b e of iron or wood,thelatter material will probably be used, strips of board orplankhollowed o ut at their upper edges to conform tothe transverse shapeofthe bottom, and nailed or otherwise secured between the'sides a a.-kThe head-piece C is constructed of slats c', matched together like thebottom, A, and has precisely the same curvature, and an inclinationwithin the 'frame or boit of about forty five degrees, an obtuse anglebeing formedvbetween the lower end of the head-piece and the bottom, asshown in ig. 3. By this mode of construction aregular geometricalcurvature is 'given the .bottom and-head-pieee, which admits of thesheet-metal lining being iitted smoothlyupon them in close contacttherewith, so 'that' the lining will not be liable-to be bent, indented,or ruptured, and a smooth surface obtained for the discharge 'of all thewater in the tub. The liningv also may be inserted and adjusted to thebottom and head-piece with the greatest facility. The frame or box alsomay be constructed with farl greater facility-thanhtherto, as the slatsmay be, readily adjusted together and secured Ain proper position. Thepresent mode. of construction is attended with considerable labor andexpense. Corner-pieces ff, (see g. 4,) require to be inserted-in thebottom-and hollow'ed out at their upper surfaces, and it isimpossible,.by this means, to obtain a perfect geometrical curve;angles, g,- will be formed, which occasion considerable embarrassment inadjusting the lining in the frame or box, and, with the greatest care,the lining cannotbe made to bear upon orbe brought in contact with thewhole surface of the bottom., and hence the lining is very apt Yto beindented and brokenor ruptured. By my improvement,`v also, no danger'can occur from a moderate shrinkage of the wood, as the slats c,'beingnarrow, the shrinkage is divided among a .comparatively large numberofjoints, whereas, in the old oir present mode ofl construction, thewide boards used, cause the joints to open very materiallyundershrinlrage, and the lining bnckles,``an,d becomes narrow-and liableto be ruptured.4 I

Having thus described my invention, Iclaim as new, and des-ire to secureby Letters Patent;-

As a newarticle of manufacture, the bath-tub, constructed as described,consisting of the tongued and grooved bottomA and end-slats c`c',`thecuirved sides d, outer frame b, and'curved supporting-brcketsB B, allarranged as described, for the purpose specified.

A. C. BROWNELL. Witnesses WM. F. MCNAMARA, ALEX. F. ROBERTS.

